The Amaranth Wand

TWELVE (Iselen POV)

"Okay, what we should do now?" Bridget asks, looking around while holding her umbrella. "I don't think we'll be able to fix this problem standing here under the rain. My gorgeous boots are ruined."

"Let's go to the archive," Kateri answers with a firm tone of voice, pointing at the town hall.

"Again?" Valentina sighs, rolling her eyes. "You checked it twice..."

"Yes, but we have new information now," the brunette girl answers, smiling. "Autumn, 1929, a precise date. And we also know what we're looking for: a smartly dressed foreigner. I'll check the purchase and sale documents of farms and you'll read old newspapers and check boxes full of pictures and postcards. Maybe you'll find something that I didn't think it was relevant before."

We all nod reluctantly but the truth is that we don't have a better idea, we don't have any other reliable source of information and, if we don't find anything good in this archive, I don't know what we're going to do. My mind is a whirlwind of thoughts that don't make sense and I guess I'm still in shock because what we found out about the shadow, or necromancer, demon or whatever it is, is horrible. I agree with Valentina, what we suspect is crazy, but I think Ruby and Jahzara are right too: that shadow was a man, he took advantage of our great grandmothers and tried to possess the body of a baby to be able to live forever... his own son. We have to stop him, locking him up again under the mountain, we can't allow him to become corporeal and hurt another baby.

I shudder with disgust and realize that I'm still holding Ruby's hand while we walk into the old building made of red brick. The pretty tattooed witch hasn't noticed it yet, or maybe yes and she doesn't care, although I can't help to take a quick look around discreetly to check that no one is looking at us. I wonder if our friends have noticed our change of attitude... I assume that they did, it's true that this is a new coven and we haven't spent too much time as sisters but it's easy to notice the changes in the energy and mood between us. I think they're trying to respect our privacy and I'm grateful for that since I'm not ready to talk about it yet, I prefer to enjoy this while it lasts.

I felt happy when I woke up next to Ruby Rose this morning, euphoric, in fact. We had dinner together last night, we chatted and watched TV till it was very late, we also drank a glass of wine with our beef sandwiches and I guess the alcohol gave me the courage to ask my neighbour if she wanted to spend the night with me. My stomach turned when I realized what I had done but it was too late to withdraw the invitation and waited anxiously for her to say no... but, to my surprise, she said yes. We slept hugging each other, that's all, while Merlin purred lying at our feet and it was wonderful.

The next day, I was still dazzled, hypnotized by her smile, her soft skin, her shiny eyes, her beauty even if she had just rolled right out of bed. Ruby Rose is perfect but I must remain firm, staying away from wishful thinking, I have to look like a sophisticated woman who can enjoy a relationship without commitment. This is the reason why I smiled and nodded when she said goodbye with a lame excuse: she had to go to work. It was obvious that she felt awkward and I decided not to put pressure on her insisting on having a longer and delicious breakfast. I'm very proud of myself because I'm behaving like a mature woman, as I promised, at least when I'm with her. What Ruby doesn't know is that I went back to my bedroom when she left and leaned my face on her pillow, smiling while smelling the sweet perfume of her hair.

Everything was okay, I was being an adult and carefree woman till Jahzara told us that we were fighting an evil goblin that crushed innocent babies' souls in order to possess their bodies. I felt so bad at that moment that I had to take her hand, it was an instinctive motion, I did it without thinking. I needed her support, using her as an anchor so I didn't go crazy of distress and shock. And she squeezed my fingers gently too, seeking comfort in my touch.